Who Owns Psychoanalysis?

The idea for the book, "Who Owns Psychoanalysis", was sparked by the controversy that erupted two to three years ago while the editor, Ann Casement, was Chair of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). The controversy revolved around the fact that some of UKCP registrants who had previously been registered as 'psychoanalytic psychotherapists' now wished to change their title to that of 'psycho-analyst'. This caused a tremendous furore in the psychoanalytic world with individuals, as well as organizations, arguing for and against this proposed change. This event was only the latest in a long history going back to early 20th century of who is entitled to be called "psychoanalyst". The current volume will be a hugely important contribution to a vital debate that has been around for almost as long as psychoanalysis itself. The contributors are mostly internationally-known members of the psychoanalytic world. The book has been divided into four sections: academic, historical, political and scientific, and each of the eighteen chapters has been allocated to the most appropriate section. Contributors include Jorge Ahumada, Pearl Appel, Bernard Burgoyne, Frank Cioffi, Morris Eagle, Peter Fonagy, Adolf Grünbaum, Robert Hinshelwood, Pearl King, Darian Leader, Dany Nobus, Michael Pokorny, Paul Roazen, Elisabeth Roudinesco, Sonu Shamadasani, Mark Solms, Thomas Szasz, Mary Target, and Jerome Wakefield